Lobbying Is Definitely Not Bribery, You Just Don't Get It
The post walks through the mental gymnastics required to explain American lobbying to a foreigner: corporations and the wealthy write checks not to politicians directly but to their reelection campaigns and Super PACs, which fund TV ads and private jets. Politicians then pass laws that please their donors, and helpful lobbyists can later land lucrative consulting gigs with the same interests. The punchline: since the money comes after the laws pass, it can't technically be a bribe.
No no no that can’t be a bribe you see, that happens after the laws were passed, a bribe would have to be before.